MIGRATION IN UZBEK LITERATURE: HISTORICAL CONTEXT AND CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS (WITH SPECIAL FOCUS ON THE POSTCOLONIAL PERIOD)

This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the migration theme in Uzbek literature, tracing its evolution from traditional epics to contemporary postcolonial narratives. Based on precise statistical data from international organizations (UN, IOM) and Uzbek state statistics, the study examines how labor migration to Russia (affecting 10-12% of Uzbekistan's population, approximately 2-2.5 million people by 2010) has transformed literary discourse since independence in 1991. Applying postcolonial theory (Bhabha's "third space," hybridity, Said's Orientalism) and transnational analysis methods, the article identifies key literary trends: economic causation versus family tragedy motifs, cultural identity crisis and "unhomeliness," nostalgia and return desires. Comparative analysis with world literature (Rushdie, Lahiri) reveals both universal tendencies (hybridity, displacement) and specific features of Uzbek labor migration literature. The study employs discourse analysis and narrative analysis to demonstrate how Uzbek literature critically engages with social policy, unemployment, and family disintegration while gradually incorporating global postcolonial theoretical frameworks.